Life Bound in Leather
by ThaliaBeauregard
Summary: A story about Annabeth's childhood up until she gets to camp… sorry bad summary! Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! My second fic, a story about Annabeth, starting from a young age. I do not own PJO;)**

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Annabeth despised her life. A father that hated her, a stepmother that thought she was a monster, two annoying little brothers, and an unknown mother who had abandoned her. Things couldn't get much worse.

One day, she was sitting in school after she had just finished a test and saw another girl writing in a journal. Her name was Jordyn, and she was always either frowning or looking sad- probably similar to how Annabeth looked right now. However, when the girl was writing, she smiled.

This gave Annabeth an idea- to keep a journal. She wasn't sure what purpose it would serve, but if it gave this girl happiness, why not her?

After school that day, she walked to the store and bought herself a nice leather bound notebook. It was gray leather with a black owl etched into the front of it.

She wasn't sure why, but Annabeth had always been strangely drawn to owls. Maybe it was because they looked so calm and serene all the time, or maybe it was because they reminded her of herself. Big gray eyes, quiet, and smart.

She really didn't feel like going back home just yet, so she made her way to a park that overlooked the Pacific Ocean. San Francisco could be really beautiful in some places.

Excited by the idea of her new journal, Annabeth Chase, age 7, sat down and began to write.

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**A/N: I plan for the next chapters to be some of her entries, kind of telling her story my way. Then, I'll have it be in the present at camp, reading them with someone, but let's not worry about that yet;) Anyways, please review, I really think I could gesomehow where with this story. Flames are OK, but try to give constructive criticism when possible;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Second chapter, a little depressing. I'm not sure if I got the dates right, but this is supposed to be when Annabeth is 7 just before she runs away. I do not own PJO. Please review!**

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June 6, 2000

Dear Journal,

Wow, that sounds corny. So anyways, this is my first entry. Right now I'm sitting on the beach, looking out over the Pacific Ocean, and thinking. Thinking about my family.

My dad hates me. Every day, I come home, get a glare from him, and go right up to my room. I work on homework, which doesn't usually take long, then sit and read until it's dinner time. He doesn't invite me to eat with the family on most occasions, so normally at around 7:00 he'll send one of my twin stepbrothers to bring a cold plate up to my room. I scarf down the small amount of food, then make sure no one's in the kitchen and quickly wash my dishes. I then again retreat to the prison in the attic called my room.

Them there's my stepmother, the devil. I swear, every time I see her perfectly made up face, she looks at me like I'm not human.

Maybe I'm not. I don't fit in with the other kids at school. I sit alone in the corner at lunch and read, and when all the other boys and girls go out to recess, I just say I have to go to the bathroom and stay there.

Another thing; people tell me that it's just my 7 year old mind making things up, but I swear weird things have started happening to me recently. On my walk to school the other day I saw a dog, but not just any dog. It was black, the blackest I've ever seen, and 10 feet tall! My stepmom told me it just looked big because I was so tiny, but I'm not sure.

So that's basically all I have to write about today; my life's not very exciting. I'm a loner, and I don't belong in San Francisco. Someday, I'll leave and never look back. I'll have anew life, with people like me. Hopefully that someday is soon.

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**Yeah so probably not the best writing, and Annabeth may be a little OOC, but she is supposed to be seven. Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok so here's chapter three! I'm really starting to like fanfiction and I want to thank everyone who followed and favorites my story. Ok so this is a little depressing but I promise it will get better;)**

June 7, 2000

Dear Journal,

This is it. I can't take it anymore!

I came home from school today and was about to quietly slip upstairs to my room when I heard my name called.

"Annabeth Chase!"

I would've been flattered that she actually called me by the family last name, but if my stepmom was even paying attention to me, it couldn't be good. I wondered what I did this time. Math test? No, I got an A+ on that… Then it dawned on me. Last night, when I got my journal, I has stayed at the park, just looking out over the ocean for way too long.

I _had gotten home about three hours later than usual, and tried to get to my room without being seen. Unfortunately, I never have much luck with that. _

_My stepmom and stepdad were sitting in the living room, with their friends, just chatting. I thought for once I'd finally make it past, when I caught my stepmom's eye. She gave me a glare that said, "You'll get it this time."_

_As I walked in to the kitchen, I was filled with fear. What was my stepmother going to do to me? Surely nothing could be worse than last time…_

_It was. The minute I stepped in the room I was smacked upside the head then punched in the fit and knocked to the ground. _

_"You monster! You think that just because you're smart and skipped two grades that you can walk around doing anything you want! You can't! I am your mother! I own you!" _

_I knew she had been drinking and what I was about to say would only make it worse, but I couldn't resist. _

_"You're not my mother," was the last thing I said before being hit in the back of the head and passing out. _

I woke up in my room, where I still am now. I packed a backpack full of clothes, whatever food I could find without being scolded, and some water. Hopefully I can hitchhike to the city then figure out what to do from there. All I know is that I can't stay here anymore.

Annabeth

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**Yeah… so probably not the most well-written thing you've ever read but hopefully it's not too bad:) Chapter four should be up by Sunday for anyone that cares. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yeah I was in the mood to write, sochapter four is up early! This one is a little bit longer, but I think it's good. I do not own PJO:)**

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June 14, 2000

Dear Journal,

I did it. I really did it! I ran away from home. And

No one came I look for me. Not that I expected them to anyways.

Here's what happened:

I woke up, got dressed, and grabbed my pre-packed travel backpack. My stepmother never really paid attention to what I wore, so hopefully she wouldn't catch that I was carrying a different backpack.

I got downstairs earlier than the rest of the family, as usual, so I could avoid any possible conflict. I ate a quick bowl of cereal and put some in a plastic bag to take with me on my adventure today. I also grabbed a couple bottles of water, some bread, and some peanuts.

I went back upstairs and got showered and dressed then came back and waved to my family as I walked out the door, supposedly heading for day camp.

I walked to the nearest bus station, about two miles away, and asked the ticket taker for a one-way ticket to the airport. After a little bit of persuading him that I was going to visit my family in New York, he gave in.

I wasn't actually going to go on an airplane though. Where would I get the money? No, I would get there, then hop on a train to Denver and figure out my plan there.

After the short trip to the airport, I paid in cash for my one-way ticket to Denver. It's an overnight trip, so that's why I have time to write, as I'm on the bus right now. The ticket included lunch, dinner, and breakfast for tomorrow, so I don't have to waste any of my food.

I have my own little compartment, and it's very relaxing. My only worries are what my parents are thinking. I left a vague note on my bed, but who knows if they bothered to look there? They might not even realize I'm gone yet.

But once they did what would happen? It's not like they care about me, but they should care if their 7-year old daughter is out in the real world by herself!

Still, I had a sneaking suspicion that they wouldn't bother looking. They'd make up a lie about why I'm not in school, tell my teachers I went to Hawaii for a year to see my grandma or something. In a way it hurt, but it also made me all the more thankful that nobody would be searching.

I think the dinner cart is coming so I should stop writing now.

But you know what? This journal is helping me. Now I know why Jordyn smiled while she wrote. It's relaxing, and it's helped me make the biggest decision of my life so far. Maybe one day, I'll look back at these pages with my friends. I know I'll make friends eventually, because I will find where I belong. I just have a feeling.

Annabeth

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What **do you think? Is Annabeth OOC? Is it a completely sucky story? Please review and tell me everything you think of it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: okay here's chapter 5! This is set a couple weeks after the previous chapter, so the beginning is Annabeth reminiscing. Enjoy;)**

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June 31, 2000

Dear Journal,

The next morning I woke up, and I was kinda confused. Where was I? Then I remembered. After dinner the night before, I had eaten a nice meal last night in my cabin, then fallen asleep almost instantly.

Anyways, the breakfast cart came, and I had a bowl of cereal for my meal. The train stopped in Denver and I was faced with a question.

What do I do now?

Where do I go? What do I do? Who do I talk to?

I couldn't travel anymore, I only had about $100 dollars left, my entire life savings. And because of that same reason, I couldn't stay in a hotel either.

I passed a hardware store and decided to buy a plain iron hammer. I just had a feeling I'd need it, with all the strange things that had been going on.

I used what I had learned about survival from the one year I actually went to camp and set up a makeshift shelter in an alley near the store. I put a piece of corrugated metal over an old trash can, kind of like a lean-to, and made it my new home.

I only slept there though, because staying there all day would be too suspicious. I carried my backpack with me wherever I went, and the hammer did come in handy.

On my third day in the city, I saw a lady yelling at two kids, maybe a bit younger than me. There was something about the lady though that looked… off. If you looked closely, her legs almost seemed green. They were! And not only that, but they were full of reptilian scales!

I didn't know who or what this snake-lady was, but I knew I had to save those other kids before it was too late. It seemed as though they didn't see anything weird about her. That was about the time I realized that I really was different from the other children. Maybe that was why my family treated me like a freak.

Anyways, The task at hand was not remembering my family. I had left them behind. Right now I had to save those children.

I'd never really used the hammer before, so I just ran around swinging it blindly. I must've managed to hit the lady hard enough from behind though, because the last thing I saw before she literally disintegrated was her startled expression.

After that, I didn't think my life could get any weirder. Boy was I wrong.

The next two weeks went by similarly to that day. I would sleep in my trash can, then somehow manage to get attacked by a mutant something or other. Denver sure had problems. I was getting pretty handy with my hammer though, and I was sure that if I could take these monsters, nobody would hurt me again.

Yesterday, I had fought a pack of weird seal-dog things pretty skillfully, and was about to retire to the safety of my trash can when thought I heard a noise down the alley. I figured it was the rats and went to bed.

Today when I woke up, there were two older kids standing over me, and they didn't exactly look happy.

Annabeth

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**How was it? Tell me everything you thought about it! Hmm… wonder who those two kids could be…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright here's chapter 6! Enjoy!**

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July 1, 2000

Dear Journal,

Woah. What a day.

Thalia and Luke taught me a lot yesterday, and it wasn't comforting to hear. I should probably backtrack a little bit first though.

When I woke up, there were two kids, a boy and a girl, who looked a little older than me, just standing over me, staring. The boy had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl had spiky black hair and blue eyes too, but hers were more… intense. Like they could see right into your soul.

After the last couple weeks, I of course thought they were some mythological creatures trying to destroy me, so I did what came naturally: grabbed my hammer and charged the boy.

Over the past few weeks, I had become a lot more confident. Whenever I saw one of those monsters, I would fight it. I don't know why, I just had an instinct, I guess.

Anyway, the boy ducked out of the way and spoke with such sincerity that I had to drop my hammer.

"Stop! We aren't going to hurt you. I'm Luke, and this is Thalia. We know what you are, and we want to help."

I wasn't exactly ready to drop my hammer and have a nice long chat, but one part of what he said caught my attention.

"What do you mean you know what I am?"

"Your family thinks you're a freak, don't they? You see monsters around town that try to attack you. You don't fit in."

"How do you know about me?" I asked, a little frightened.

"Because the same things happen to us. We're like you."

I still had a suspicion that he wasn't what he seemed, but the boy, Luke, sounded pretty serious. I believed him.

"Okay, tell me more," I said.

They explained to me that I was a demigod, daughter of a mortal and a Greek god or goddess. My immortal parent had to be my mom.

Luke said that he was a son of Hermes, the messenger god, and that Thalia was a daughter of Zeus, king of the gods.

"King of the gods?" I said. "That sounds prestigious."

"Yeah, well he's too busy with that to even pay attention to me. I hate my father. First he left me with my mom and now he doesn't even have time for me."

"And my dad has so many sons and daughters I'm not special to him at all. Just another kid he doesn't care about," Luke added.

"Well, who do you think my mom is? I think I remember hearing my dad say 'Athee' or something in his sleep once," I said

"Athena… that would make sense," Thalia replied. "Annabeth how old are you?"

"Seven," I said. "I'll be eight in February."

"And you taught yourself to fight? How to build shelter?"

"Well yeah, I really had no choice about the fighting. As for the shelter, I learned survival at camp one summer. I've always wanted to be an architect though. I love math and design."

"One more thing," Luke added. "Are you afraid of spiders?"

I did not want to talk about that. Spiders came in my room every night and bit me. It was like there was something about me they just couldn't stand. I tried telling my stepmom, but she didn't believe me. Luke must've seen my face pale, and he smirked.

"I thought so. Athena seems like the obvious choice. Her gray eyes, love of math… it all fits. I just wish we had a sign."

"What's Athena the goddess of, Thalia?"

"Wisdom and battle strategy. That explains what a good fighter you are."

"That's cool, but why did she abandon me? Why didn't she even visit me once? Am I not important to her?"

"None of us are important to the gods, Annabeth," Luke said. "But don't worry. We'll build a family, you, me and Thalia. It'll be better than any family the gods could give us. We'll teach you more tomorrow. Right now, we need to get out of here. I have a bad feeling about Denver."

I had no idea how we were going to leave, but Luke looked like he had a plan.

We went to the airport and I was wondering how we were ever going to get enough money to get on a plane when Luke walked up and started talking to the person selling tickets. He came back smiling with three tickets in his hands.

I must've looked puzzled, because Thalia explained it to me.

"Hermes is also the god of travelers, so lots of his kids work at airports and bus stations and stuff. Luke probably told them who we are and got us tickets."

"Right you are, Miss Grace. Three one-way tickets to New York. Our plane leaves in an hour."

I had to admit, I was kinda nervous. I had never been on a plane before.

As if she was reading my mind, Thalia said, "Luke, I'm not so sure about this…"

"Come on Thals, your dad's the god of the sky, what could happen?"

"Well, I guess you're right, but this better go by fast."

It did. On the plane ride, which was a little under three hours, we mostly just talked. I learned that Thalia was eleven and Luke was fourteen, and they'd found each other in Conneticut, and decided that they'd try the west coast to start a new life. They'd had a bad feeling in San Francisco, though, and gone to Denver because they had a feeling something was there- me.

They taught me a little more about demigods and Greek mythology and their adventures, and we landed pretty soon after the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.

We set up camp in an alley in the Upper East Side, near some apartment buildings and went to sleep.

Right now, Thalia and Luke are still sleeping, so I took the peace and quiet as a blessing and a time to write. I really like them, and I feel like I finally fit in somewhere. Like I have a family. Who knows where we'll go next. They normally don't like New York because it's where the gods live, so we'll probably get out of here quickly.

Anyways, they'll probably be awake soon, so I should stop writing.

Annabeth

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**Sorry it took so long, I had a busy week. The chapters are gonna be a little longer now tht the adventures are happening. Review and tell me what you think. I also may be starting a new one-shot on Silena… like her? Hate her? Tell me what you think. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's chapter 7! Sorry it's so late; I had a bad case of writers block;)**

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July 8, 2000

Dear Journal,

The past week has been… interesting. I'm not really sure if I could classify it as either good or bad, but it's surely been full of excitement.

The amount of good that's come out of being with Thalia and Luke is incredible. I finally have a family, just like Luke said we would. They don't make me feel like an outsider, just like a normal person.

Thalia is wonderful. She's not like those petty girls who only care about boys and makeup and clothes. She's deeper than that. Even though she's only eleven, she seems so much older. Maybe it's because of everything she's been through.

Luke is great too. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical of him at first, because he seemed too perfect. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a face any girl would love. But again, like Thalia, he's not your stereotypical popular guy. He's down to earth, humble and kind and he actually cares about me, unlike anyone else in my past.

The bad parts of this new life are terrible though. There are monsters. A lot of them. They seem to follow us everywhere, but when I'm with Thalia and Luke, I feel safe. We can always best any monster with only a few minor cuts or bruises, and the ambrosia heals those quickly.

Our first morning in New York, I was in awe. The city was huge, with so many buildings! I'd always enjoyed looking at cool and unusual buildings; architecture fascinated me.

I could tell that Thalia and Luke wanted to get out of there, being so close to Olympus and all, but they agreed for us to stay two more days so I could learn my way around. I had a feeling is need to later in my life.

Those three days were filled with monsters, more than I'd seen in my entire life. I now understood how dangerous New York was, and we'd left pretty quickly after a stymphalian bird attack.

Luke stole some money from a candy store while we were in the city, and we had enough for a train ride to DC. That's where we are now, staying in a hotel. Thalia has a strange ability to manipulate the Mist, so the humans working there are convinced that we're VIPs and they're letting us stay for free.

Just to be safe though, we set up a sort of safe house a little outside the city, in case we were ever in trouble and came around the area again.

DC has been great so far- not a single monster attack yet and we've been here for four days. Four days! We've gone to all the memorials, eaten at a nice restaurant, and done all the normal touristy things. Also, Luke took enough money to buy us some new clothes, so now I don't have to wear the same outfits over and over.

I just hope we can stay here for a little while longer, though I'm almost certain we can't. The monsters will find us eventually, especially in a place where Greek society is so prominent. I mean, this is where all of the government buildings are, and Athens' democracy totally sparked the US's. Not to mention that the Lincoln Memorial is a complete copy of the Parthenon.

Anyways, I should probably get dressed now. Thalia just woke up and we'll probably leave today. Hopefully we can take one last look around before the monsters catch up.

Annabeth

**Did you like it? It's a little shorter than usual, sorry! Also did anyone catch the Percy/Sally references in the past two chapters? They were subtle, so you might not have. Anyway, please tell me how this is! I am new to the site and I don't know if my writing is good enough! Review!**

**PS: How were my Thalia and Luke portrayals?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 already? Wow! Enjoy. **

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July 15, 2000

Dear Journal,

I've been thinking a lot about my family lately, mostly my dad. Is he worried about me? Did he even bother looking for me? Is he happy I'm gone?

I'm sure he worries about me, even though he might never admit it too anyone, even my mom. Which also makes me wonder why he never even told me about my real mom. Thalia's mom and Luke's mom had both told them about themselves. Who their parents are, who they are; they'd even taken the time to tell them all about Greek mythology.

What had my dad told me? Nothing.

Even when the monsters came and attacked our house, he just told me to be quiet and go back to bed. He didn't believe me when I told him and my stepmom that spiders came and bit me at night. He was never there for me.

However, I still refuse to believe that he doesn't care about me. I'm his daughter. He can deny me all he wants, but I know that somewhere, deep down, he loves me.

On that happy note, I should probably write about my adventures so far with Thalia and Luke. It's been great!

Luke taught me more fighting techniques and he gave me a bronze knife to use, which is a lot mot effective than a hammer.

"This is only for the most clever of fighters," he said, "but I'm sure you can handle it."

I was right about DC. We left the city the day after I wrote about it and traveled to Virginia. There we set up a number of safe houses, in cities such as Richmond, Jamestown, and Williamsburg.

Right now we're on a train to New Jersey. Thalia is sleeping and Luke just keeps absent-mindedly staring out the window. I think he's had a rough past, like me, though I wish he'd tell me more.

Thalia told me her whole story, minus a few parts I assume she just wasn't ready to tell. Her mom was a Hollywood starlet with a big fluffy hairdo and beautiful blue eyes. Zeus fell hard for her, and she had Thalia. Zeus came once every couple of days to check on them, make sure they were ok for the first couple years of Thalia's life, then he stopped coming. Once, when Thalia was seven, he came back because he knew her mom had been drinking. She said something was different about him though. He was sterner, and spoke in Latin.

He didn't visit again for two more years, when her mother really spiraled out of control. He managed to get her back on track for a while, and she took Thalia for a picnic lunch.

Something happened there, she wouldn't tell me what, but something bad. She said it was the last straw and she ran away from home and found Luke. They were on the run for a while together and then they found me.

I wish there was a place that we could all go and be safe. I like running around with Thalia and Luke, but it's dangerous. There are so many monsters. I pretend I'm not scared of them, but I am! Sometimes I wish we could just all go somewhere together and be friends.

Annabeth

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**Maybe not the best chapter so far, but I was in the mood to write so I updated! Thank you to everybody who has reviewed and followed my story- it means a lot! Anyway, tell me what you think! **

**PS: If you haven't already, check out You've Got Mail by HAWTgeek. It's ONE of my favorites:)**


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